/N/ quant. 1. A large and indeterminate number of objects: "There were N bugs in that crock!" Also used in its original sense of a variable name: "This crock has N bugs, as N goes to infinity." (The true number of bugs is always at least N + 1 see {Lubarsky' s Law of Cybernetic entomology}.) 2. A variable whose value is inherited from the current context. For example, when a meal is being ordered at a restaurant, N may be understood to mean however many people there are at the table. From the remark "We' d like to order N wonton soups and a family dinner for N - 1" you can deduce that one person at the table wants to eat only soup, even though you don' t know how many people there are. 3. "Nth": The ordinal counterpart of N, senses 1 and 2. "Now for the Nth and last time..." In the specific context "Nth-year grad student", N is generally assumed to be at least 4, and is usually 5 or more (see ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=tenured graduate student">tenured graduate student). See also ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=random numbers">random numbers, ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=two-to-the-N">two-to-the-N. [ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&file=search&eid=1&query=Jargon File">Jargon File]

e="border-width:thin; border-color:#333333; border-style:dashed; padding:5px;" align="left">In addition suitable contents:
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ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1708">C ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=1724">ca ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2001">ch ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2099">ci ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2136">ck ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2247">co ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2545">con ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2639">context ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2791">cr ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2826">crock ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2900">cu ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=2912">current ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3151">de ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3565">do ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3752">du ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3834">e ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=3865">ec ] [ 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ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5390">gs ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5430">gy ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5434">h ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5540">hat ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5722">hose ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5768">hr ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=5931">id ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6013">il ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6064">in ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6108">infinity ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6482">is ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6558">it ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6589">J ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6620">Jargon File ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6789">ke ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6861">kn ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6906">ky ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=6918">la ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7091">Lex ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7107">li ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7399">ls ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7415">lu ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7418">Lubarsky' s Law of Cybernetic entomology ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7441">ly ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7463">ma ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7582">man ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=7932">mil ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8032">mo ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8040">mod ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8079">module ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8167">mp ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8386">na ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8472">ne ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=8488">net ] [ 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ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12369">table ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12524">tenured graduate student ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12567">text ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12588">th ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12721">to ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12787">tr ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12939">tw ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12963">two-to-the-N ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=12986">ua ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13008">ug ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13030">um ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13146">up ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13175">us ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13252">va ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13260">value ] [ ef="module.php?name=Lexikon&op=content&tid=13274">var ] [ 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